Dance With Me

Director:

Randa Haines

Writer:

Daryl Matthews

Columbia; PG; 126 minutes

Release:

8/98

Cast:

Vanessa L. Williams, Chayanne, Kris Kristofferson and Joan Plowright

Puerto Rican soap star/singer Chayanne is no Patrick Swayze or John Travolta on the dance floor, but he is sexy and does exude heat. Williams, on the other hand, moves with grace and confidence. (Her beauty is a given.) But physical beauty alone cannot carry a film. Chayanne plays Cuban ex-pat Rafael Infante who works as a handyman at a dance studio run by squinty-eyed John Burnett (Kristofferson), who may or may not be his father. Rafael is an untrained, randy dancer who feels the music. He instantly falls for Ruby (Williams), a professionally trained dancer whose career has hit the skids. Philosophies clash when the two pair up, but their chemistry is palpable. Unfortunately, Ruby and Rafael's underdeveloped personal dramas overpower the dancing and music.